Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Conversion of Amine to Amide and Degradation of Methylene Blue Using BiOCl–TiO2 Nano Heterostructures

Abstract

Facile green synthesis of BiOCl–TiO2 was done using combustion technique by Ixora coccinea leaf extract as fuel source. The said material was characterized using XRD, SEM, EDX, HRTEM, SAED, FTIR, and UV-DRS. The particle size was found to be approximately 60 nm and a crystallite size of 0.3 nm from TEM. The photocatalytic activity of the material was found out using photoluminescence studies, dye degradation and photocatalytic organic conversion. The material showed excellent dye degradation capacity for methylene blue with 80% of the dye degraded under 3 hrs. The stabilisation of electron–hole pair by the heterostructure gave it the ability to perform easy degradation. The degradation kinetics have also been studied. It also showed an excellent organic conversion property with formylation yield reaching up to 96% and total conversion of the reactant molecule. The material is a potent photocatalyst due to its great efficiency and can have a remarkable role in the synthesis of important organic molecules and detoxification of environment. The heterostructure catalyses the conversion of amine to amides and mineralizes methylene blue under visible light condition.